Mirza Fathali Akhundzadeh and the concept of law

Law as one of the most important concepts of Iran's constitutionalism was considered by all the thinkers of that era. Akhundzadeh, as one of the intellectuals, noticed this concept and thought about it. His discourse on the law consists of several parts. First, the importance of law and its necessity in Iran. Second, pay attention to the point that until some preliminary actions are done as required by the law, we cannot hope that the writing of the law will bring us the results we want. Akhundzadeh took the side of the law in an important action regarding the relationship between the law and the Sharia, and in this respect he was distinguished from his contemporaries. He believed that the law and the Sharia have two different theoretical bases and it is impossible to compare them and make the Sharia the basis for writing the law or consider both as the same. In his critical review of Mirza Yousuf Khan Mostashar al-Dowleh's book he specified his positions regarding these two concepts. In this article, an attempt has been made to examine Akhundzadeh's view of the law and its relationship with the Sharia by relying on his works.